Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

18 reviews

violet_pages's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Abortion and Vomit

whimsylindsey's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder

claredragonfly's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Abortion

etosaurus's review

dark emotional mysterious tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Gore

Minor: Blood

Nonconsensual pregnancy, but without sexual assault/rape

Gaslighting

definitelynotreading's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

rorikae's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

'Burn Our Bodies Down' by Rory Power is a baffling book, in the best way possible. Power creates a story with so many twists and turns that I was never quite sure what was happening, but this made it so I couldn't put the book down. 
I honestly think that it is best to go into this book knowing as little as possible but what I can say about the plot is that it follows Margot, a girl who lives with her emotionally abusive mother. Her mother has never told her anything about her family and so when Margot finds out where her grandmother lives, she heads off to learn more about her past. 
There are so many reasons why I think this book is a masterpiece. Power's plotting is impeccable. She drops hints slowly and steadily and each new piece of information just made me want to read faster. It's a strange book but Power handles the strangeness well by pairing it with quick, clear writing. The story is told in first person, and this works extremely well because as the reader, we have just as much information as Margot does. This also makes the emotional abuse and manipulation by her mother and grandmother visceral. I found that I was confused throughout the book but that worked because Margot was confused as well. The confusion throughout the book was rewarded by an answer at the end that made it all worth it. This story is incredible and makes me more excited for what Power writes next. If you're looking for something mysterious and strange, I cannot recommend 'Burn Our Bodies Down' enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Vomit

ollieshark's review

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

pros:
-a ya novel with no romance!!!!!!!!
-the main character is a lesbian.
-super messy family dynamics and acknowledgement of the fact that parents can, in fact, be irredeemable despite what parents want you to think.
-spoopy corn horror.

cons:
-why did rory power ruin the horror by explaining it again? like with wilder girls, the scientific explanation removes the fear. a second read will not be effective at evoking the same fear and curiosity readers feel during their first read.
-sags in the middle and focuses a little more on the mystery of the Other Girl instead of the horror at fairhaven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Death, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Child death

the main character is at one point buried alive. the toxic relationship is not romantic and instead familial.

nxclx's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Great book, almost read all of it in one sitting, keeps you hooked and guessing about what's actually happening. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

All spoilers ahead: Some of the content warnings happen toward the end and so are a bit spoilery but are important to know as it gets dark kinda fast